


Recovery and introspection

by Kia619



Series: Angstgent 24 [5]
Category: Splatoon
Genre: Angst, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Injury Recovery, Inkling - Freeform, Lesbian Cephalopods (Splatoon), Slice of Life, octoling - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-16
Updated: 2020-03-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:15:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23163862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kia619/pseuds/Kia619
Relationships: Agent 3/Agent 8 (Splatoon)
Series: Angstgent 24 [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1466896
Comments: 7
Kudos: 43





	1. The chapter where Three’s neck hurts

Three awoke to the sun shining on her face, which was something she wasn’t too fond of. This is why she usually had her curtains closed if she could help it. But even then, the sun usually didn’t shine like this until closer to noon, and Three had been waking up earlier in the day lately as Eight had been trying to get her on a healthier sleeping schedule. So then why was the sun shining  _ directly _ into her eyes? Maybe she’d had a late night and just slept until the afternoon and simply forgot to close her curtains? Her brain was slow starting up so she decided it was probably best to just get up out of bed and start her day, she’d remember what happened later.

Three tries to raise her right arm to block the sun but finds moving it is much more difficult than usual, almost like something’s attached to it, so instead she uses her left arm. Moving her left arm is much more possible but it still takes far more effort than usual, it feels stiff and sore, but she does manage to get it in front of her face so the light isn’t going directly into her eyes. Finally without the sun in her eyes she sits up in bed slightly and looks around her room, she didn’t feel Eight laying next to her which meant that it was likely later in the day, maybe she was in the bathroom getting ready or something, her eyes blink open and she takes in the imagery of her room under all this light. Only it isn’t her room.

The room she’s in is all white, but faded slightly like it was white when it was new but it’s been a few years since it was built. She hears commotion outside her room but it sounds distant, like whatever it is isn’t anywhere near the room she’s in, and even then it doesn’t sound like something urgent, more like just people rushing around a lot. The door that must be to the outside is a lot larger than the doors she’s used to, like it was designed for someone in a wheelchair to be able to easily enter and leave without risking bumping their hands against the doorframe. She doesn’t quite understand why a room would need such a wide door though, unless she was in the hospital for some reason.

She looks down at herself and… oh… that is what’s going on. She finds herself dressed in a hospital gown and an IV in her arm, she can’t make out what she’s got dripping into her system but it’s likely painkillers of some kind. It’s at this moment that Three realizes something else, her neck isn’t just incredibly stiff, it’s inside of a neck brace, no wonder she has to turn her entire body just to look to the side. Three stares down at herself for a moment before suddenly she remembers everything that happened previously. Maybe it was the night before but she’s no idea how long she’s been out for.

“W-Wait.. How am I…” Three’s entire life flashes before her eyes as she realizes, she came incredibly close to having a face to face meeting with the creators of her world. No way she would’ve been able to sync with a spawn pad at the rate she was falling. She feels tears prick the edges of her eyes and her breaths get more shallow. She thinks about how devastated Eight would’ve been had she bit the dust like that, there was still so much she wanted to do and see that she very nearly lost the chance to do with her.

The machines next to her begin beeping wildly as her hearts beat at an increased rate from what they should be, and her oxygen levels drop as she hyperventilates. The door to her room swings open and a Doctor enters, he notices that while she is in a state of panic, she’s not an immediate danger to herself, and he approaches softly. He holds his hands up in front of him as non threateningly as possible, making sure not to add to her panic level more.

“Ms. Narakai, please, you’re perfectly okay. Just breathe okay? Breathe.” He says as he demonstrates the breaths Three should take using his arm to indicate when to breathe in, how long to hold, and when to breathe out by raising it from the base of his chest to the top of it, holding it there, and then lowering it back down to the bottom of his chest. Three fortunately understands and starts following his instructions.

Finally Three’s breaths are under control and the Doctor smiles, grabbing the clipboard off the foot of her bed and giving the chart a quick read, nodding to himself every so often as he reviews it. Three doesn’t detect any major bad reactions to her chart from him which does bring a level of ease to her mind, she can tell she’s not going to die anytime soon which is comforting.

“Okay so good news and slightly not as good news. The good news is you should be on your way home within the next couple days. The not so good news is you’ll need to keep that brace on your neck for about two weeks.” The doctor smiles reassuringly and Three does visibly calm knowing she’ll be able to go home soon, with a slight grumble about how long she’s going to need the brace for. She’s a side sleeper and the brace means she’s gonna have to sleep on her back. You’d think she’d have other issues with the brace but really that’s the biggest concern for her at this moment.

“How long have I been here?” Three asks, trying to get a handle on the world finally, now that she knows where she is and why. She wonders if Eight is there, or Jay, or any of her other friends. Do Callie and Marie consider her friends? Or just a coworker? But then there was that thing her and Callie had way back when… anyways back on topic. Three feels mildly disconnected from time as a whole and she needs outside help getting reacquainted.

“Oh! You were brought in two nights ago. And don’t worry, we have an agreement with the Splatoon, your identity will be protected Miss Narakai.” He again smiles, putting the clipboard back on the foot of her bed. “Oh by the way, you have some visitors, would you like to see them or would you prefer to be left alone?”   
  
Three perks up at that, she’s got an ache in her heart and she’s hoping that Eight is among the visitors. She could really go for a hug from her right about now. Three has also been meaning to catch up with Jay since they haven’t had the chance to talk much lately. Three looks to the doctor and nods.   
  
“Send them in, please.” She says, a tinge of hope in her words as she smiles. She knows Eight is likely the reason she’s even alive right now, she’d have to find some way to thank the Octoling later, but for now she just needs companionship.

“Of course.” The doctor nods and leaves the room, leaving Three alone with her thoughts for a moment.

She thinks about the mission she was just on, how everything seemed to line up strangely perfectly in favor of whomever was targeting them. The message not being able to be translated by Marina, the only person being able to translate it happening to be Marie’s contact, and then, that same person having a connection that allowed sanitized Octolings to assault them.

Three shakes her head and puts aside her thoughts for the moment as the door to her room again swings open, this time revealing a very relieved looking Octoling. Eight looked horrible. She looks like she hasn’t slept since Three was brought in, her tentacles were faded and looked almost like they were starting to wither a little bit, and her eyes had bags under them that would give the checkout lane at a grocery store a run for its money.    
  
Eight carefully approached Three, seemingly very timid, like she’s afraid of what Three might say or do… but when Three opens her arms for a hug, Eight accepts without any hesitation. The two hold each other very tight, Eight was careful not to agitate Three’s neck however, and the two of them just softly sighed as they felt the comfort of their lover in their arms.

“I was so worried about you…” Eight says without breaking the hug, her hands gripping the back of Three’s hospital gown as she feels the tears prick her eyes again. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t protect you better… I’m so sorry!”

“Eight… don’t be sorry for something that isn’t your fault… I knew the risks of the mission, I accepted them… I should be thanking you, you saved my life!” Three holds Eight closer and presses a kiss to her forehead. “I-I love you Eight, I love you so much.”

Eight sniffles and holds Three as tightly as she dared, she couldn't bear the thought of losing Three. Three had given her so much since even before they started dating, the first time they spent meaningful time together proved to her that the Inkling did care about her as a person quite deeply. She’d often think back to their date at the cafe, back before they knew how they both truly felt about each other. The booth they sat at which overlooked Inkopolis park, the iced coffee that blew Eight’s mind when she found out about it… and the generosity of the Inkling whom Eight had once thought to be the most fearsome and unfeeling Inkling of them all.

“I-I love you too Three…” Eight manages to get out, shaking slightly as her mind still plays out the sights she might’ve seen had she not been able to catch up with Three as she fell through the sky, the terrifying thought of the orange splatter across the pavement. The only solace Eight could take was that Three was already unconscious, she wouldn’t have felt it.

Three scoots to the side a little and invites Eight to join her on the hospital bed, it was plenty big enough for the both of them if they cuddled closely. Eight being able to hold on to Three helped her calm down immensely, and Three too felt more at ease with the presence of her Octoling GF holding on to her. 

“Is anyone else here? Or is it just you?” Three finally asks, once the two of them are comfortable and Three’s hearts are beating at a safe rate. 

“Jay is here too… she stopped in the cafe in the entrance though, had to take her meds.” Eight says, resting her head on Three’s chest and purring softly as her mind finally stops thinking of what could’ve gone wrong and instead focuses on what’s going right.

“Ah yeah, makes sense, needs to be taken with meals.” Three nods, silently wondering when her cousin will stop by to visit, and hoping it’s soon.

Three doesn’t have to wait very long as there’s a knock on the door, followed by an Inkling with similarly orange tentacles to Three’s, only much shorter, enters the room.

“Hey Alex, how’re you feeling?” Jay says as she walks closer to the pair of cephalopods laying in the hospital bed. Jay was still dressed in her agent gear, likely she’d been out on a mission of her own before coming here, as stray zapfish often do go missing here and there still and they need to be returned.

“Well, I’m not dead… so I’d say I’m doing quite well all things considered.” Three says, staring somewhat blankly at her cousin as she enters the room. She didn’t mean to come across as cold or uncaring, but her life had genuinely very nearly ended, so to have that not happen was genuinely something to be happy about.

“Well, that’s better than the alternative.” Jay smiles softly and grabs a chair, sitting next to Three’s hospital bed. Jay grabs Three’s free hand and holds it softly, hoping that her presence will calm her cousin somewhat. Three does squeeze Jay’s hand which tells Jay that she at least appreciates the gesture.

Three closes her eyes and snuggles into Eight as best she can with her neck locked in its brace, still holding Jay’s hand as well and taking comfort in the presence of both her cousin and her Octoling partner. She knew she was safe now, and that she had people who cared about her with her, but she still felt a little uneasy. Something about everything that led to her being in this hospital bed just didn’t sit right with her.

She didn’t bother dwelling in it for too long however, it just made her heart rate spike and that in turn caused a doctor to enter the room to make sure she’s not  _ dying. _ Which she figures is totally fair given the circumstances. But still, Three was quite content just laying with her Octoling partner, and holding her cousin’s hand. These two things made her incredibly comfortable.

Three figures she’s not getting out of the hospital for a few more days, she’s still on IV painkillers and they usually don’t discharge you until you don’t need those anymore. Three focuses on what she could do while she’s still in her hospital bed. She could get her laptop brought over so she could work on some projects she’d been putting off, mostly just self indulgent things like writing. Though Three did want to see about what she could dig up about anything relating to the jerk that set them up to be ambushed.

Three was a lot better at research than you’d think upon first glance. Part of it was natural talent, but a lot of it was a honed ability that at least in part came from her time in Kamabo. She became incredibly good at digging through systems and gaining access to information she shouldn’t. Snagging the employee level CQ-80 just made her life a lot easier. Three still had it actually, she kept it in her bedside table drawer so it wasn’t in a place Eight would see, though she did warn Eight that it was there should she ever need to go through Three’s bedside table for any reason.

Three wondered if she could still use its security clearance to access files from within Kamabo. While the technology was no doubt advanced, their security left a lot to be desired. Three found that every CQ-80 was simply imprinted with a code on its processing chip, the employee models had a different code than the regular models, but it was always the same across each one. 31174123 was the code used for the Employee model, and unless the issued a new one to every single active employee within Kamabo, which Three severely doubted, she was willing to bet she could still access  _ everything _ . 

She’d have to add that to the list of things to do in the near future, but for now, she was content just to rest. She hoped she didn’t have to have the neck brace on for too much longer, it made it really hard to lean down and kiss Eight’s head, which she absolutely loved doing when Eight was cuddled into her.


	2. Secrets revealed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three has been discharged, but the neck brace has to remain. With her new found free time at home, she decides to do some digging and see if she can't find out anything about why she was put in this position in the first place.

Three had been discharged from the hospital about five days ago. When she got home the first thing she did was lay on her own bed and take a nap. Eight is insisting on taking care of Three while her neck heals despite the fact that other than having to turn her entire body to look at something beside her, she’s fully functional. She won’t be clear for turf wars for another month however, even if her neck brace comes off in about a week. Three was actually grateful that Eight was doing things like making food for the two and picking up the groceries and such, it gave Three time to do some… research.

Eight was gone for the day today, she had set aside some time to hang out with Marina and Pearl, and Three insisted that she follow through with it. Three liked having alone time sometimes, and Eight had prepared plenty of food that Three could easily reheat. Eight had left Three with a kiss before disappearing into the distance off the launchpad. Three went over to her bedside table and pulled open the bottom drawer, picking up the small device that lay inside. Her Employee model CQ-80.

Three sat on the couch, a can of soda on the coffee table, a mindless show on the TV for background noise, and the intent to find out just how involved Kamabo actually was with those sanitized Octolings that had ambushed them. Three guessed that if Zod had engineered the entire thing himself, that he’s likely skilled enough to hack some hypnoshades and get sanitized octolings to work for him. But it’s also just as possible that he was simply paid off to allow them access to his club. Given the size of Kamabo it’s reasonable to expect that they’d have the ability to pay off any damages that might be caused by their involvement.

Three pops open her laptop, and using the cable Marina had made for her, connects the CQ-80 to it. She’d gotten pretty damn good at accessing Kamabo’s files in her time surviving in Kamabo’s facilities, so she managed to connect to their network rather quickly. Three laughed slightly to herself. Old wireless tech had such a limited range that this would never work, but the walls inside Kamabo were so thick that the wireless signal had to be strong enough to get through, which meant that once it hit the open air, it would go incredibly far. Which was good for her because it meant she didn’t have to get near Kamabo to find out the information she needed.

Three digs through the files she can find, at first everything seems exactly as it was when she’d last looked, all the files about sanitization and how to achieve it were right there for her to look at. She had ignored those files before but something nagged at her to download them to her computer, maybe it could help in counteracting it… she starts the download quickly and continues digging, she’s looking for either a report about troop movements, or a report of systems compromised.

A troop movement would mean that Kamabo orchestrated the attack, which Three did think was quite possible, but a systems compromised report would mean that someone else gained access to the frequency of the Hypnoshades used on the Sanitized Octolings, which also seemed highly plausible. Three found that it was incredibly difficult to find any file that would match the description of either event however, it seemed like everything was exactly like last time she dug through these files, those reports must be buried somewhere in their system, she’s sure of it. She finds the report of Tartar’s demise quite easily though, and finds that it seemed his AI was entirely housed within the telephone. Which meant that when Pearl blasted it with her princess canon, he would’ve most likely been wiped out entirely.

After some digging Three finally finds the files she was looking for, something dated to the same day that she and Eight went on their assignment that saw them being ambushed, and resulted in her having the neck brace that she’s currently wearing. She digs through the report for any kind of useful information and finally she finds exactly what she was looking for.

\--

SYSTEM BREACH REPORT

  * MULTIPLE SANITIZED ELITES COMPROMISED 
  * HYPNOFREQUENCY COMPROMISED
  * NO ATTEMPT MADE TO RECLAIM COMPROMISED UNITS
  * ALL UNITS ASSUMED K.I.A.
  * RESET HYPNOFREQUENCY FOR ALL EXISTING UNITS
  * NO FURTHER UNITS OR SYSTEMS COMPROMISED



\--

Three smiles and closes her laptop, Kamabo  _ wasn’t _ behind the attack after all. She saved a screenshot of the report and sent it to Marie, along with the datestamp so Marie knew when the report was from. Three figured that now that this was done and over with, she deserved some kind of treat. Which of course, meant now she had to get up from the couch, ugh. 

“Oh the sacrifices I make for chocolate” Three laughs to herself as she stands from the couch and walks over to the kitchen, popping open the freezer and digging around for some kind of sugary snack. She snags out an icecream sandwich and silently celebrates as she unwraps it and tosses the wrapper into the trash bin under her sink. She takes a bite of the sandwich and makes a noise that signifies she’s enjoying it, though if someone heard the noise she just made, they might not assume it was due to the consumption of sweets. “I always forget just how much these things fuck”

Three goes back over to the couch and plunks herself down, now done with her laptop and the CQ-80, she puts the both of them on the underside of the coffee table on the small shelf that resides there so they’re out of the way and not in direct line of sight should she fall asleep before Eight comes home so Eight won’t see them. She turns her attention to the TV and actually starts trying to find something she  _ wants _ to watch. Eventually she settles on a show that she used to watch when she was younger, cartoons always seemed to calm her mind and that’s exactly the kind of thing she needs right now.

She makes a mental note to get some proper food soon, she’s not eaten for a few hours aside from the ice cream sandwich she’s consuming presently, so she’s going to need to eat some actual food before too long. But she doesn’t feel super hungry at the moment so she feels okay putting it off for a little while longer. She takes out her phone and checks the time, 2:43pm, Eight likely won’t be home for several more hours. Eight and Marina often forgot to keep track of time while they were talking, and Three didn’t really mind much. She was happy that Eight had some family here on the surface that she could turn to when she needed to. Three knows how crushing it can feel to not have anyone to turn to and she’s glad Eight has a support structure outside of just her.

Three sat her phone on the couch next to her and idly watched the show on the TV, laughing at the bits intended to be laughed at, and just generally enjoying the chance to do some mindless nonsense. Occasionally she’d flip to another channel to see what else was on but she usually wound up back on the same channel as before, watching cartoons. In this moment Three felt somewhat at peace, she only wished two things. That her neck wasn’t trapped in the contraption that made it so she couldn’t turn her head, and, that Eight was with her and snuggled up under a blanket. Okay maybe Three minds a little that Eight won’t be back for ages. 

Three tries not to focus on these thoughts for too long however, she knows Eight needs to be able to go out and have her own life. Besides, Three is pretty sure Eight would’ve had a breakdown if she’d seen the CQ-80, and Three didn’t want to cause her partner to deal with that kind of stress if she can avoid it. So Three just, vibes. She watches her show and gets lost in it, and the episode after, and the one after that. It seemed like they were doing a marathon of the entire series today, which was nice, it meant Three could stop flipping through channels and relax a bit. She should really get something to eat soon though, it feels like it’s been a while.

Three does not get something to eat, and instead finds herself laying on the couch, it’s terrible for her back and with her neck in a brace it’s remarkably uncomfortable, however, she’s not really focusing on any of that so instead she stares up at the ceiling. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to take a short nap, she’d get something to eat when she woke up for sure. Three lets her eyes fall closed, and sleep takes her quickly, followed very closely by her dreams.

\--

Three is in a place she doesn’t quite recognize, it looks something like a train station only it seems like it’s been abandoned for years. However despite this, the ground was surprisingly clean, and the lights were all still lit. Three wandered down the platform before realizing something. There’s no stairs nor any elevators, she’s stuck on this platform. Was this a trap set for her? Was this some kind of trick? Whatever it was, Three had no intentions of staying trapped where she was.

Three is ready to hop off the pad and start running down the tracks when she suddenly hears something… something that chills her to the core. From a few feet behind her, she hears… the ringing of an old telephone. Three freezes dead in her tracks, and slowly she turns to face the noise. Shock and horror fill her soul as she sees, standing right across from her, is the very same Telephone that hijacked her mind nearly two years ago. 

“YOU!” Three spits in rage, walking towards the telephone and trying to think of the most efficient way to turn it into a pile of scraps. But as Three approaches, it does something she didn’t expect, something which makes her ink curdle.  _ It starts to laugh _ .

“The mighty Agent Three, revered for her combat ability and feared for her efficiency at taking out Octarians. I must say you would have made an excellent test subject.” Tartar’s voice rings, every word bouncing around inside of Three’s head and making her dizzy. “It’s a shame you had to corrupt 10,008, she would’ve improved my sanitization compound with her fighting knowledge, but you had to go and unlock the rest of her memories… now she’s only fit to be a foot soldier for my uprising.”

A door opens behind Tartar, and Three hears another voice call out to her, this time however, it’s Eight’s voice, and it sounds like she’s in distress. Three’s eyes widen in horror and she freezes for a moment, she can’t quite believe what she’s hearing, she doesn’t  _ want _ to believe what she’s hearing, but once again Eight’s voice calls out.

“Three! Please! I’m trapped! Please help me!” Eight’s voice cries in pain, Three can hear the panic in her words and she runs past Tartar through the now open door, the room is dark but she can see if she focuses, but looking around she can’t see Eight anywhere. She’s panicking and trying to find her lover before anything bad can happen to her.

“Eight?! Eight I’m here! Where are you?!” Three calls out in a panic, scanning the room frantically for her lover. She keeps looking across the room, the walls seem barren, the room seems intentionally poorly lit, like it was designed to make her struggle to see what was going on.

“Th-Three… I-I’m so sorry…” Eight’s voice calls from just below where Three is looking. Three tilts her head down to the source of her voice and… oh, oh no, oh gods please no. Three’s voice is whimpering and wavering, each word sounds like it struggles to escape her lips.

Three covers her mouth in shock as she looks at the sight in front of her, Eight is laid on the ground, her clothes tattered and torn, and there’s various tubes going into her arms and her legs. Each tube glowed with pulsating teal ink flowing through it… directly into Eight’s body, her sclera are already turning black, and her skin has turned teal. The spots on her body where the tubes connected looked burned and in pain. Eight’s hands were trembling, she struggles to reach up to Three but her arms don’t have the strength to reach all the way. Eight looks at Three with a pained expression, and tears running down her cheeks.

“Th-Three… please…  _ RUN _ .” Eight says, Three can see her last moments of free will fading, Three can’t run, she can’t bring herself to leave Eight behind like this… She kneels down next to Eight, tears filling her eyes. If she loses Eight like this, she’s going out too, she knows she can’t bring herself to fire on Eight once she is under Tartar’s control, she simply accepts what’s going to happen to her because she’s staying where she is.

“Eight… I-I’m so sorry… I failed you…” Three wraps her arms around Eight and begins to sob, how could this have happened? How could she have let this happen? She can’t believe what’s happening, but she can’t bring herself to leave Eight’s side, she wants to at least give Eight some kind of comfort in her last moments, it’s what she deserves.

Three then hears Eight’s voice again, only this time it sounds distant, she feels her body shake and a slight pain in her neck, she feels a light panic set in before suddenly...

\--

Three sits up quickly and lets out a loud gasp, she’s panting hard and her clothes are practically drenched with sweat. She looks over to her side and she sees… Eight… Alive and well, and definitely  _ not _ sanitized. Three doesn’t even think, she just grabs Eight and pulls her into a tight hug, her eyes still leaking tears from her nightmare.   
  
“Oh Eight… I-I thought I lost you…” Three presses her head into Eight’s shoulder, staining her shirt slightly with tears, though Eight doesn’t mind. Eight can tell that Three’s dream was horrific and she’s more than content to help ease her girlfriend’s mind now that it’s over.

“Shhh, you’re okay my love, I’m okay, I’m right here, I love you.” Eight reassures Three, drawing circles on the Inkling’s back with her fingers. She can feel Three’s hearts slowly stop racing and being beating at a more normal rate, once Three was no longer in a state of panic, Eight gently scoops her into her arms and makes her way towards the bedroom.

The time was 1:27am, Three was carried to bed by her girlfriend, who made sure to get her a change of clothes, and a kiss on the head. Three’s mind was put at ease, however Three struggled to sleep that night, fear of what her mind might show her kept her awake, but at least now, Eight was by her side if she needed her. Eventually Three does fall asleep once again, and no more nightmares befall her that night.


	3. A much needed talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eight confronts Three about the images that she saw in her nightmare, hoping to help her lover through this difficult time.

Three awoke the next morning to pain. Everything in her body was in pain. Her back ached from sleeping on the couch, her neck ached due to the whiplash she was still recovering from, and her stomach ached because she was an idiot and didn’t eat yesterday. Also her eyes hurt because it was bright as fuck and she didn’t like it, someone should turn off the sun for a few more hours.

Three thought about staying in bed a while longer… but she could smell something delicious coming from the kitchen, which meant Eight was making something, which made Three’s stomach growl so aggressively you’d think it was a tiger ready to pounce. Three sighs and pushes the sheets off of herself and, oh, these aren’t the clothes she remembers falling asleep in. Actually now that she thinks about it, she remembers falling asleep in the living room. At like three in the afternoon. Why was it tomorrow? 

Three then suddenly remembers… her dream. Her dream was intensely vivid and for once, was not leaving her mind at all. Three’s mind would replay every detail of her nightmare for her as though it was a video stuck on repeat. Suddenly she remembers why she’d been brought to bed, she remembers Eight coming home and waking her up, and she remembers how Eight had only cared to help get Three comfortable and back to sleep in a better place. Eight had done so much for her in such a small space of time, what did she ever do to deserve someone like her? Despite the calming memories of Eight’s embrace, the haunting image of her sanitized body still lingers in her mind. She hopes her dream was just that, a dream, and not some kind of omen of things to come.

Three stands, pushing her thoughts down slightly, and forcing her best “I’m okay” face as she opens the bedroom door and walks into the rest of her apartment. She makes her way towards the kitchen where Eight was making breakfast for the both of them. As Three approaches she takes in a deep sniff of the food being made and coos softly, Three knew Eight was likely only going out of her way to make breakfast like this as a result of her nightmare last night, but she wasn’t about to complain about the reason, everything smelled so good.

“Morning sleepyhead!” Eight beams as she finishes making a stack of pancakes, setting the pan in the sink and splitting the pancakes into two even stacks on two separate plates. She walks over and sets them down on the table, grabbing some cutlery and some syrup for them and setting it all on the table.

“Thank you Eight, this looks delicious!” Three smiles, still pushing down the images in her mind from the nightmare she’d had the night before. She makes sure to give Eight a quick hug and a peck on the cheek to show how much she appreciates everything the Octoling does for her.

Eight can tell that all is not well in the land of Three’s brain, but she decides to put off asking her about it until at least after breakfast, if nothing else, Three needed to eat. Eight had gone through the fridge when she got home last night and found that not only had Three not eaten the dinner prepared for her, but neither the lunch. Eight knew that Three didn’t order takeout either as there were no remnants of takeout containers anywhere to be seen. Eight knew Three hadn’t eaten since breakfast the day before, and she was going to stay home all day today to make sure her lover took care of herself.

The two cephalopods take their seats at the table, sitting close to each other, but not close enough to bump elbows. Three pops open the syrup and begins drowning her pancakes, which causes Eight to giggle softly, she found it cute how much syrup Three liked on her pancakes. Once she was done, Eight had her turn with the syrup bottle, she didn’t drown hers like Three did, but there was still a healthy amount of it on her own stack of pancakes now. Eight leans over and gives Three one last peck on the cheek before the pair of them start eating their breakfast.

Three had started eating a lot more sensibly with some gentle encouragement from Eight, she no longer ate with such ferocity that food wound up on her ears, however this was… something else entirely. Three was slowly eating her pancakes, too slowly, like her mind was anywhere but the food on the plate in front of her. Eight knew it wasn’t the quality of the pancakes, Three often revered them as the best pancakes she’d ever had, and whenever Three did take a bite Eight could tell she was enjoying them. No, there was something bothering Three, and Eight was going to get to the bottom of it. 

Eventually the pair finished eating, and Eight set about cleaning the kitchen, getting dishes put away and loading up the dishwasher. Eight couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling in her heart, when she came home last night Three was asleep on the couch, and Eight was going to simply carry her to bed without waking her… but then she started screaming. She was screaming things like “NO!” and “PLEASE NOT THIS!” and Eight couldn’t help but wonder what had happened in her dream to make her react like that… and then there’s the pain in her eyes when she woke up and saw Eight, like she’d seen a ghost, it ate at Eight to know that something could bother her girlfriend like that, to make her fearful even in what should be the sanctity of sleep.

Eight finishes cleaning the kitchen and then motions for Three to sit on the couch next to her, she knows this isn’t going to be an easy thing to talk about, but she can’t help Three if she doesn’t know what’s going on. She spotted Three’s CQ-80 on the underside of the Coffee table and figured she went digging through Kamabo’s files, which likely explains why Three was so content letting her go out with Pearl and Marina yesterday. Three was always so considerate when it came to Kamabo, she knew not to bring it up unless she had to, and she knew how it affected Eight. But by now, Eight had a plethora of other memories she was wrestling with that she could use to keep herself distracted from the Metro. Right now, she needs to know what’s going on in Three’s mind, and if it involves Kamabo, so be it. Eight would just have to remind herself to make an appointment with her therapist soon… and probably get Three to do the same.

“What’s up Eight? You seem concerned…” Three takes her seat on the couch as Eight does the same, already locking their hands together. Three makes a mental note of how warm and comforting Eight’s hand is, nothing like the cold she felt in her nightmare… This was real, and she was safe with her girlfriend in their apartment. That helped her calm down considerably.

“I-I am concerned Three… concerned for you…” Eight looks at Three, concern in her eyes but with the warmest smile she can muster given the circumstances. “Last night when I got home… you… were screaming in your sleep.”

“Oh” Three stares at the ground, realizing that she’s going to have to tell Eight what happened in her nightmare now, and wishing very much that Eight had just crashed at Marina and Pearl’s for the night so Three didn’t have to bring up Kamabo directly to Eight like this, especially because of what happened in her nightmare. She didn’t want to put Eight through that, Eight had done so much for her already, she felt… almost guilty for how much Eight has been doing for her lately.

“Three, you know I’m here for you right? I love you, and I don’t want to see you suffering alone…” Eight gently rubs Three’s hand with her thumb, squeezing it lightly to try and ease Three’s mind. Eight could tell that Three didn’t want to talk about her nightmare, but Eight also knew that Three NEEDED to talk about it. Eight wasn’t going to just sit and let her partner suffer. “I-I Normally wouldn’t pry, but… when you woke up… you looked into my eyes like you didn’t believe what you were seeing… in your dream did I… hurt you? Are you afraid I’m going to do something to you?”

“NO! No! Nothing like that at all!” Three reassures Eight, she could tell that Eight’s mind had been playing the possible reasons for how she reacted both in her sleep and when she woke up, and she figured the best option now was to just tell Eight what happened, and they could handle the resulting consequences after. Three squeezes Eight’s hand and the two of them relax slightly, and finally Three begins explaining. “I love you too Eight, more than I ever thought possible. I’ll tell you what happened in my nightmare but… it’s not going to be easy for you to hear.”

Eight smiles her soft welcoming smile, and brings her hand up to cup Three’s cheek, leaning in and giving her a soft kiss to lighten the both of theirs tensions. Eight could tell it helped Three as she no longer had a look on her face like she sensed a charger waiting to pick her off as soon as she grabbed the Rainmaker. Three took in a deep breath and looked Eight in the eyes, her expression telling her that it’s going to be difficult to hear AND to say. Eight mentally braces herself for whatever might come, but she could never have prepared herself for the truth.

“Okay. It started out and I was… in the Metro…” Three starts, glancing at Eight too gauge her reaction. As expected, shock, the only reminder they’d had of Kamabo in the past year was the sanitized Octolings that ambushed them, and she knew the both of them had tried not to think about it too much for both of theirs sake. But the shock doesn’t last long, Eight remembers the CQ-80 under the coffee table and realizes it’s likely connected.

“Okay… so Kamabo… do you know… why?” Eight asks, trying to remain supportive but feeling her mind start flashing memories, the ever present bomb strapped to her back, every time she heard C.Q. Cumber say Test Failed. But she pushed those thoughts down and focused only on Three for the moment, she’d just have to schedule another appointment with her therapist, boy would he love to hear the story of why she’s having flashbacks now.

“I think… it might be because I went digging through their files yesterday. I managed to find their information on how they sanitize Octolings, and was thinking maybe that info could be used to help counter it.” Three explains, glancing over to the coffee table where the CQ-80 was still situated. She was still nervous, she really wishes she didn’t have to give Eight the details of her nightmare, but Eight also deserves to know the truth.

“So it was on your mind when you fell asleep?” Eight prods, trying to get as much out of Three as she can, to hopefully help her not have these kinds of dreams in the future, she hates seeing Three suffer. She wants to make sure to do everything she can to ensure Three never has the kind of dream that has her screaming in agony, Three doesn’t deserve that, even in a dream.

“Sort of, I found the files I was looking for originally, then after I fell asleep watching TV by accident. That was at about… Three in the afternoon.” Three continues, still glancing to see Eight’s reaction to every word she says. Eight puts the information she has with the information Three has given her, and she realizes that Three’s nightmare very easily could be caused in part by the lack of food in her system. Before she can respond however, Three continues explaining. “And then when I fell asleep, the dream happened.”   
  
Eight nods, holding Three’s hand tightly and supporting her, signalling for her to continue. She can feel Three’s hearts beating faster, and so she takes a moment to get her to breathe. Three realizes that she’d been taking shallow breaths and quickly corrects the issue. Once her breathing and heart rate were under control, Three once again continues telling Eight what happened in her nightmare.

“So, the telephone… Tartar, he was there. When I approached him he laughed at me… and then… h-he…” Three feels the tears pricking at her eyes, a whimper escaping her lips already. Three can still see everything so vividly in her mind, but the one thing that always sticks out to her, is how Eight’s eyes looked in the nightmare. The black sclera, teal iris, and empty pupils. But Eight still didn’t know what Three saw.

“Oh Three… did he… hurt you?” Eight leans in, ready to pull Three tightly against her chest at a moment's notice, this nightmare sounds worse by the second. Eight could see tears starting to prick the edges of Three’s eyes and it causes her hearts to ache. She hates how Kamabo can still be hurting them, it was supposed to be well in the past now, why was it still following them like this? It wasn’t fair to either of them.

“No… not exactly.” Three sniffles, pushing her emotions down for just a moment, she’s going to get to the end of this nightmare. Once she’s done explaining it she’ll allow herself to actually break down and sob. “It was you… he-he… sanitized you… I was too late… I couldn’t save you.”

Eight was shocked, she never would’ve anticipated that Three would see these kinds of things in her nightmares. No wonder she looked so afraid when she woke up, and why she looked like she didn’t believe Eight was real when she did. Three thought she’d lost her forever, and it tore at Eight’s hearts to know that was something that Three’s mind would do to her.

“Oh, Three, I-I’m so sorry!” Eight quickly pulls Three into a tight hug, holding Three’s head against her chest and kissing it softly, she’s not going to let anything hurt Three, especially not Kamabo. “I promise, I won’t let that happen… I won’t ever leave you… I love you so much Three.”

“I love you too Eight.” Three openly sobs and just curls into Eight, she focuses on how warm Eight feels, and how the soft skin of her hand feels so wonderful in her own, she focuses on how happy and grateful she is to have Eight in her life, and how she has no idea where she’d be right now without her. 

Eight and Three remain in each other's embrace for what feels to them like an eternity, and yet not nearly long enough. Three’s tears dried long ago, both of their hearts now beating normally. Eight gets an idea for something she can do that might help Three slightly.    
  
“Hey Three… would it help if I maybe rubbed your shoulders a bit? You always seem so tense and maybe that might help?” Eight inquires as she gently draws circles on Three’s back with her fingers, waiting for the Inklings response to her inquiry.

“It might… if it’s not too much trouble?” Three looks up at Eight, hope in her eyes as she imagines what it might feel like to not have so much tension held in her body. Eight nods and motions for Three to spin around and she does.

“Just tell me if I’m rubbing too hard alright? I don’t want to hurt you… and I’ll do my best to work around your neck brace.” Eight smiles and puts her hands on Three’s shoulders, digging her thumbs into the soft skin of her back eliciting a pained groan from Three. Eight could tell that Three had a lot more tension in her back than she really should. “Lover, you should… maybe think about getting a massage from a professional at some point, they’d be able to get out more knots than I could.”

“I keep meaning to… I keep not doing it.” Three grimaces but because the tension is leaving her body, the pain is somewhat pleasant. It’s like removing something that’s lodged into your skin, it hurts like hell to remove, but once it’s gone it’s immeasurably better. 

“I can help you schedule it, I just want to make sure you take care of yourself alright?” Eight digs into Three’s back and starts working out some of the deeper knots, she hears Three whimper slightly but Three gives the thumbs up to her meaning she can continue, a silent signal they’d established long ago due to… reasons… which proved to be useful in this moment.

Three and Eight would spend a majority of the day like this, sitting together and taking care of each other. Eight called up her therapist to schedule an appointment and got Three to do the same. Eight made sure Three ate a proper meal for lunch and dinner, and she was happy to see Three had a much easier time eating because her mind was finally clear of her nightmare, at least enough for her to function.

When night rolled around, Three looked at their bed apprehensively. She wasn’t sure she wanted to go to sleep, for fear of seeing the same images all over again. But Eight reassured her that she’d be safe, and that if something did happen, that Eight was right there next to her to help in any way she could. 

Three did not have any nightmares that night, and slept peacefully in the arms of her girlfriend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that does it for this arc! Thank you all so much for continuing to read and I hope you stick around for the next one! It's gonna be a doozy!


End file.
